CM Jagan Launches Revised Arogyasri Scheme, Free Cover Enhanced to Rs 25 Lakh
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the enhanced YSR Aarogyasri scheme that will now provide free medical treatment of up to Rs 25 lakh to people, whose annual income is less than Rs five lakh.
Launching the new scheme virtually from the Camp office here on Monday, the Chief Minister said that 4.25 crore people from 1, 48,000 lakh families would be covered under the scheme.
He also formally launched the distribution of new YSR Aarogyasri cards.
He said, “This will prevent people from falling into a debt-trap due to increasing costs of medical treatment. MLAs, staff of village secretariats, volunteers, ANMs and ASHA workers would be involved in the massive public awareness campaign that takes off on Tuesday. The facility will cover 3,257 ailments in 2513 hospitals. Medical treatment under Aarogyasri would also be available at 85 super specialty hospitals in Hyderabad, 35 hospitals in Bangalore and 16 in Chennai.
The number of people who have received treatment under the scheme has gone up to 53 lakh while it was at a meagre 22.32 lakh during the Telugu Desam regime.”
The Chief Minister said, “The government has been gradually expanding the network of medical facilities. There has been a massive rise in the number of 104 and 108 vehicles. There are 936 vehicles today while there were only 226 during the TD rule. Apart from adding 17 new medical colleges to the existing 11, we have filled 53, 126 doctors, nurses and para medical staff vacancies. While bone-marrow and heart transplantation have been brought under Aarogyasri, the government has so far spent Rs 1900 crore only on cancer patients with no cap on treatment expenditure as against the Rs five lakh limit during TD rule. While they spent Rs 5900 crore during their entire tenure towards Arogyasri in TD rule, the present government has been spending an average of Rs 4100 crore every year besides spending Rs 1309 crore under Arogya Asara.”
Reddy stated that the government has taken care to fill specialist doctors’ vacancies. He said that the official machinery is also taking steps to supply WHO quality medicines to people at the doorstep with the cooperation of the postal department besides making 562 types of medicines available in government hospitals. With 10,032 village health clinics being equipped with CHOs, ANMs and three to four ASHA workers and with 105 sorts of medicines and 14 types of diagnostic tests, the government has taken the preventive health care system to the next level, he said.
The Chief Minister pointed out that the Nadu-Nedu programme is also helping hospitals attain national standards and the government is committed to turn the state into Arogya Andhra Pradesh.
He asked officials to continue the Aarogyasri public awareness campaign along with the second phase of Jagananna Aarogya Suraksha beginning on January 1.
